Working full-time and having two young children, it's expected that your home will be a bit cluttered as you head out of the door. However, one woman was left shocked and in tears by her landlord's comments after he did an unexpected inspection of her home.
On the popular online forum Mumsnet, the mum-of-two shared how her landlord critisised the clutter in their home whilst he was over fixing the shower. He sent a text to his tenants saying that they needed to have a "serious talk" about what he saw - which some argue was standard clutter in a "normal family home."
On the 'am I being unreasonable thread' the woman explained that her landlord was annoyed by dishes left in the sink, the washing basket overflowing, the kitchen bins being full, and how untidy their wardrobes were. On the post, other landlords were even shocked by his comments.
On Mumsnet, the woman posted: "So, our landlord was round today to fix the shower. He fixed it, but he then went around the other rooms, essentially doing an inspection even though he wasn't here to do an inspection! At least I assume he did (my partner and I were both at work), as I then got a text saying he wants a 'serious talk' with us when we got home.
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"I got home first, he turned up five minutes later and started berating me about how untidy the house was. His complaints were: there was an empty cardboard box next to the stairs, the washing up hadn't been done, the kitchen was a bit cluttered, there were empty toilet rolls in the bathroom, the kitchen bin was full, the washing basket was overflowing, the WARDROBE was untidy? (yes he looked in the wardrobe) and there were three plastic tubs of clothes piled up in the corner of one bedroom. I was sorting my son's clothes ready to take them to a charity shop.
"Yes our house isn't spotless, but we have two young children (4 and 1) and both work full time. There is some clutter but he made out like it was a complete pigsty and it genuinely isn't. There are things like piles of washing (not on the floor but in baskets) He also made some nasty personal comments, one of them being 'I know you have kids but maybe you shouldn't have had them if you can't cope.' Basically talking to me like a naughty schoolchild.
"He also said 'I don't want to evict you, but...'. He cannot evict us for it being a bit cluttered, surely? I was in tears when he left. He has given us a week to tidy up. There is no damage or alterations to the property, it's not dirty. It is simply that it's a bit cluttered (mainly due to lack of storage as we aren't allowed to use the loft).
"I should say we've been here for four years, always paid rent on time, never been any bother, always reported any issues etc. He has inspected before and never had a problem. He rarely gives any notice when he inspects, just turns up and then says 'I'm within my rights to inspect my own house'. Is he being totally out of line or am I being too sensitive? Considering complaining to letting agent."
Many Mumsnet users were shocked by the landlord's actions and comments. One woman said: "Sounds like a normal family home to me!" While another said: "Wow that’s awful! He was well out of order. You are NOT being unreasonable."
This was agreed by another commenter, who said: "Yes out of order. And know he isn't within his own right he needs to give 24 hours notice." While another added: "The fact that he went in your wardrobe... that is actually really scary, sorry this happened to you."
Some commenters claimed to be landlords themselves and were in disbelief by the landlord's remarks. One user said: "I’m a landlord, your landlord is bang out of order!" Another said: "I’m an ‘accidental’ landlord. I don’t care (actually, I don’t think I have a right to care!) about tidiness, or cleanliness unless it’s risking damage to the building. He is totally out of order and serve him right if he loses good tenants."
Do you think the landlord was out of order for making these comments? Let us know in the comments below.
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